Applied Surface Science, Vol.252, No.13, 4549-4552, 2006
Thickness effect in Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O-3 ferroelectric thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition
Epitaxial Pb(Zr,Ti)O-3 (PZT) thin films with thicknesses in the range of 50-200 nin and with 0.2 Zr/(Zr + Ti) ratio, were grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The substrates used for PLD deposition are single crystalline 0.5% Nb-doped (1 0 0)SrTiO3 (STON). SrRuO3 (SRO) thin films were deposited as bottom and top electrodes in order to have minimum structural misfit, to insure on one side high quality growth, and on the other side to minimize the influence of the ext,ended structural defects. Structural and electrical characterization was performed. The epitaxial PZT films are c-axis oriented and have an average roughness of 0.4 nm. The ferroelectric behavior was proved in all investigated films by the presence of the hysteresis loops and by the butterfly shape of the capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics. The ferroelectricity was present even in the samples with relative high leakage currents, down to a thickness of 50 nm. These results are essential when small thickness is needed for miniaturization of ferroelectric devices using PZT. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.